Higher Levels Of Negative Affect Research Articles

Positive and Negative Affect as Links Between Social Anxiety and Depression: Predicting Concurrent and Prospective Mood Symptoms in Unipolar and Bipolar Mood Disorders

The co-occurrence of social anxiety and depression is associated with increased functional impairment and a more severe course of illness. Social anxiety disorder is unique among the anxiety disorders in sharing an affective profile with depression, characterized by low levels of positive affect (PA) and high levels of negative affect (NA). Yet it remains unclear how this shared affective profile contributes to the covariation of social anxiety and depressive symptoms. We examined whether self-reported PA and NA accounted for unique variance in the association between social anxiety and depressive symptoms across three groups (individuals with remitted bipolar disorder, type I [BD; n = 32], individuals with remitted major depressive disorder [MDD; n = 31], and nonpsychiatric controls [n = 30]) at baseline and follow-ups of 6 and 12 months. Low levels of PA, but not NA, accounted for unique variance in both concurrent and prospective associations between social anxiety and depression in the BD group; in contrast, high levels of NA, but not PA, accounted for unique variance in concurrent and prospective associations between social anxiety and depression in the MDD group. Limitations include that social anxiety and PA/NA were assessed concurrently and all measurement was self-report. Few individuals with MDD/BD met current diagnostic criteria for social anxiety disorder. There was some attrition at follow-up assessments. Results suggest that affective mechanisms may contribute to the high rates of co-occurrence of social anxiety and depression in both MDD and BD. Implications of the differential role of PA and NA in the relationship between social anxiety and depression in MDD and BD and considerations for treatment are discussed.

Feasibility and adherence paradigm to ecological momentary assessments in urban minority youth.

All adolescents in general, including ethnic and racial minorities, report high levels of cell phone use, making mobile technology a useful tool for assessment and intervention. Known health and education disparities based on minority status motivated us to conduct an in-depth investigation regarding feasibility of and adherence to the ecological momentary assessment (EMA) research protocol, studying daily life of urban minority youth. In addition, this paper presents a methodological approach to conceptualizing and reporting adherence in EMA studies. The sample was comprised of 126 youth (41.3% boys; 40.5% 7th and 59.5% 8th graders; 75.4% African American, and 20.6% Hispanic) who carried a mobile phone for 10 days, including 2 weekends and reported on activities, moods, and attitudes. Mean level of adherence was 81% for momentary and 93.8% for daily assessments; it decreased over time and was higher during the week compared to weekends. Adherence was lower on days when participants reported high levels of negative affect and on days when they were engaged in physical activities. Our findings underscore the importance of differentiating between human and technology-related factors when computing adherence rates and portray adherence as a complex and dynamic construct that can vary across individuals. Specific study recommendations and methodological discussion provide guidelines for designing future studies. (PsycINFO Database Record

Organizational Support, Job Resources, Soldiers’ Motivational Profiles, Work Engagement, and Affect

The authors examined the relationships between soldiers’ motivational profiles and work correlates. Results showed that the profiles differentially related to perceived organizational support and work engagement in both samples, as well as to communication, supervisor support, and positive and negative affect in Sample 2. Specifically, soldiers with the highest autonomous motivation scores displayed the highest levels of perceived organizational support and work engagement. Moreover, the highest levels of autonomous motivation were associated with the highest levels of communication, supervisor support, and positive affect. Finally, soldiers with low to moderate levels of autonomous motivation reported higher levels of negative affect than those characterized by high autonomous motivation scores. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Exploring the feasibility and usability of the experience sampling method to examine the daily lives of patients with acquired brain injury

ABSTRACTThe experience sampling method (ESM) is a structured diary method with high ecological validity, in that it accurately captures the everyday context of individuals through repeated measurements in naturalistic environments. Our main objective was to investigate the feasibility of using ESM in individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI). A second goal was to explore the usability of ESM data on a clinical level, by illustrating the interactions between person, environment, and affect. The PsyMate device provided ABI patients (N = 17) with ten signals (beeps) per day during six consecutive days. Each beep was followed by a digital questionnaire assessing mood, location, activities, social context, and physical well-being. Results demonstrated high feasibility with a 71% response rate and a 99% completion rate of the questionnaires. There were no dropouts and the method was experienced as user-friendly. Time-lagged multilevel analysis showed that higher levels of physical activity and fatigue predicted higher levels of negative affect at the same point in time, but not at later time points. This study illustrates the potential of ESM to identify complex person–environment dynamics after ABI, while generating understandable and easy to use graphical feedback.

Subjective Well-Being and Gratitude Among South African Adolescents

Findings on contextual variables related to subjective well-being (SWB) and gratitude among adolescents are inconsistent. This study examined the association between SWB and gratitude among a group of South African adolescents ( n = 840) as well as gender and cultural differences in the mean scores on measures of SWB and gratitude. Correlations between SWB and gratitude were in the expected direction. Females showed higher levels of satisfaction with school, friends, and self, compared with males, and also higher levels of negative affect, state, and trait gratitude. Black adolescents were more satisfied in the domains of self and school and showed higher levels of state gratitude. White adolescents experienced higher levels of general life satisfaction and satisfaction with living environment, as well as trait gratitude. Programs to enhance youth well-being could benefit from focusing on specific life domains and affective experience to better address the needs of specific groups of adolescents.

Prevalence of Suicidal Ideation and Its Association with Positive Affect in Working Women: A Day Reconstruction Study.

The suicide rate for females in China is the second highest worldwide, and China is the only country in the world in which the rate of suicides is higher for women than men. Affective instability has been shown to be a strong predictor of suicidal ideation, particularly among women. However, prior research has mainly focused on the impact of women's negative affect on suicidal ideation, ignoring the influence of positive affect on suicidal ideation. Studies have revealed that hopelessness, which is 1.3 times more important than depression for explaining suicidal ideation, is driven more by low levels of positive affect than by high levels of negative affect. Although positive affect has also been found to be related to suicidal ideation, and it demonstrates independent, beneficial effects on mental health, much remains to be learned about the association between positive affective instability and suicidal ideation. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence of suicidal ideation among Chinese working women and explored the differences between working women with and without suicidal ideation in the intensity and daily variability of positive affect. A total of 222 young working women of ages 22–36 years (M = 27.64, SD = 3.73) were recruited from a free weekend psychology lecture. The women subsequently completed a daily diary Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) as well as a suicidal ideation questionnaire. We used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to analyze the data, and the results showed that: (1) 10.81% of participates reported suicidal ideation, the intensity of positive affect (happiness, warmth/friendliness, interest and relaxation/calmness) was significantly lower for women with suicidal ideation compared to women without suicidal ideation; (2) differing diurnal patterns of positive emotions were observed between women with and without suicidal ideation; women with suicidal ideation demonstrated a significantly lower trend of growth and a higher volatility in happiness, warmth/friendliness, relaxation/calmness. Given that lower intensity of positive affect and greater affective instability significantly predicted suicidal ideation in Chinese women, researchers should pay more attention to the role of positive affect in female suicide prevention research and intervention efforts in the future.

Profiles in emotional aging: does age matter?

ABSTRACTObjectives: The aim of this research project was to define emotional profiles in elderly people and to analyze the presence of each one in different age groups (from 65 to 74, 75 to 84, 85 to 94 and 95 to 104).Method: The sample group comprised 257 elderly people not suffering from cognitive impairment who were independent in the Basic and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. The following emotional variables were analyzed: positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, loneliness, and regulation strategies.Results: Cluster analyses revealed three emotional profiles: ‘dissatisfied’ (elderly people with high levels of negative affect and loneliness who are unhappy with their lives and use problem solving to regulate their emotions), ‘happy’ (those with good levels of positive affect and life satisfaction, low levels of loneliness and negative affect and little use of passive strategies), and ‘resilient’ (those with low levels of positive and negative affect and medium levels of loneliness who are more or less satisfied with their lives and who use passive strategies to regulate their emotions). A relationship was observed between age and profile. Among the under 85s, the most common profile was ‘happy’, while among the over 85s, the most common profile was ‘resilient.’ The ‘happy’ profile was also observed in participants over the age of 85, although to a lesser extent. The prevalence of the ‘dissatisfied’ profile decreased with age.Conclusion: These results highlight the fact that although age seems to be a key factor in determining profile, individual differences should not be overlooked, even among the oldest old.

Differential association between affect and somatic symptoms at the between- and within-individual level.

The established between-subjects associations between affect and somatic symptoms have often been interpreted as indicating a causal effect of affect on somatic symptoms, but it is doubtful whether this is valid. In this study, we evaluate the association between positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), and somatic symptoms at both the between- and within-subject level. Diary data were collected in the context of an online study called 'HowNutsAreTheDutch'. Participants filled out an online questionnaire, three times a day for 30 consecutive days. A mixed linear model was used to test the contemporaneous and lagged associations between affect and somatic symptoms. Five hundred and eighty-six participants (481 females, median age 39.6years [range 18.1-71.4]) were included with a total number of 28,264 completed questionnaires. At the between-subjects level, a positive association between NA and somatic symptoms was found (B=.60, p<.001), whereas the negative association between PA and somatic symptoms was much smaller (B=-.14, p=.062). At the within-subject level, PA (B=-.33, p<.001) was more strongly associated with somatic symptoms than NA (B=.13, p<.001). The lagged analyses showed a negative association between previous-day PA and somatic symptoms (B=-.05, p=.001). The results suggest that NA is more important for differences in symptom levels between subjects, whereas PA is more important for variations in symptom levels within subjects. Moreover, our results suggest that an increase in PA is followed by a decrease in somatic symptoms after 24hr, which suggests a causal effect. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Affect and somatic processes are closely linked. Cross-sectional studies show, for example, that people with higher levels of negative affect tend to report more somatic symptoms. Findings between individuals, though, might camouflage processes at within-individual level, and it might not always be possible to translate findings at the population level to the individual. However, diary studies are upcoming and show more about processes on individual level. What does this study add? Highlights the difference between processes at the within-individual and the between-individual level. Shows the importance of positive affect at individual level in relation to somatic symptoms. Shows the benefits of the use of new techniques in diary studies.

Stereotype threat and social function in opioid substitution therapy patients.

People with a history of substance abuse are subject to widespread stigmatization. It seems likely that this societal disapproval will result in feelings of stereotype threat, or the belief that one is the target of demeaning stereotypes. If so, stereotype threat has the potential to contribute to functional difficulties including poor social outcomes. Eighty drug users on opioid substitution therapy and 84 demographically matched controls completed measures of mental health and social function. The opioid substitution therapy group were additionally asked to complete a measure that focused on their feelings of stereotype threat in relation to their drug use history. Bivariate correlations and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to establish the magnitude and specificity of the relationship between stereotype threat and social functioning. Relative to controls, the opioid substitution therapy group reported higher levels of negative affect and schizotypy, and poorer social functioning, with all three of these indices significantly correlated with their feelings of stereotype threat. The results also showed that stereotype threat contributed significant unique variance to social functioning in the opioid substitution therapy group, even after taking into account other background, clinical, and mental health variables. Social functioning is an important aspect of recovery, yet these data indicate that people with a history of drug abuse who believe they are the target of stereotypical attitudes have poorer social functioning. This relationship holds after controlling for the impact of other variables on social functioning, including mental health. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. Concerns about being stereotyped can shape the social experiences of opioid substitution therapy patients. Opioid substitution therapy patients who feel negatively stereotyped experience greater social function deficits, and this relationship emerges after controlling for important clinical and mental health variables. Understanding the relationship between feeling stereotyped and social function may assist practitioners in their treatment. The study is cross-sectional, and thus, experimental or longitudinal research is required to determine the causal direction between stereotype threat and social function.

Retrospective Reports of Childhood Misfortune Are Associated With Positive and Negative Affect in Adulthood.

Childhood misfortune refers to nonnormative experiences individuals encounter at younger ages that affect development across the life span. This study examined whether retrospectively reported childhood misfortune was associated with negative and positive affect in adulthood. In addition, we explored whether perceived control beliefs would moderate these associations. We used archival data from 6,067 adults ( Mage = 46.86; range = 20-75) from the Midlife Development in the United States study. Higher levels of misfortune were associated with higher levels of negative affect and lower levels of positive affect in adulthood. However, control beliefs moderated this association such that the combination of higher perceived control and misfortune resulted in less of a decrease in positive affect and less of an increase in negative affect. Overall, early life events were associated with later life emotional health, and control beliefs were an important psychological resource that buffered the negative effects of childhood misfortune.

Employee health-relevant personality traits are associated with the psychosocial work environment and leadership

Little is known about personality in relation to assessments of the psychosocial work environment and leadership. Therefore the objective of this study is to explore possible associations and differences in mean values between employee health-relevant personality traits and assessments of the psychosocial work environment and leadership behaviors. 754 survey responses from ten organizations were selected from a large-scale intervention study. The Health-relevant Personality 5 inventory was used to assess personality. Five dimensions of the psychosocial work environment were assessed with 38 items from the QPSNordic and 6 items from the Developmental Leadership Questionnaire were used to assess leadership behavior. Positive correlations were found between Hedonic capacity (facet of Extraversion) and perceptions of the psychosocial work environment and leadership behavior. Negative correlations were found for Negative affectivity (facet of Neuroticism), Antagonism (facet of Agreeableness), Impulsivity (facet of Conscientiousness) and Alexithymia (facet of Openness). There were also significant differences in mean values of all work environment indicators between levels of health-relevant personality traits. Those with higher levels of hedonic capacity had higher (better) perceptions compared to those with lower levels. Those with higher levels of negative affectivity had lower (worse) perceptions compared to those with lower levels. The findings show a clear association between employee health-relevant personality traits and assessments of the psychosocial work environment and leadership behavior. Personality can be important to take into consideration for leaders when interpreting survey results and when designing organizational interventions.

Parental Reflective Functioning Moderates the Relationship Between Difficult Temperament in Infancy and Behavior Problems in Toddlerhood

High levels of infant negative affect are associated with behavior problems in toddlerhood, which in turn are a risk factor for chronic behavior problems throughout childhood, especially in the context of poor parenting and psychosocial risk. Studies suggest that sensitive parenting may buffer temperamental risk in infancy by supporting self-regulation and emotion regulation (Gottman, Katz, & Hooven, 1997). Parental reflective functioning (RF) (Slade, 2005) underlies sensitivity and is a target for early interventions aimed at supporting parenting and child development. In this study, we examine whether RF-that is, the capacity of a parent to put oneself in the mind of the other (child) and see the child's behaviors as driven by his/her mental state-will protect against the effects of infant negative affect on toddler behavior problems after controlling for psychosocial risk.Early Onset of Behavior ProblemsBehavior problems in early childhood may originate from temperamental risk that is exacerbated by other parenting and psychosocial risks. Behavior problems are described in two broad domains-internalizing behavior and externalizing behavior-and each type can follow different developmental trajectories. Internalizing behavior problems have been defined as behaviors directed inward toward the self. Evidence suggests that children with internalizing behavior problems are often identified as being socially withdrawn in interactions with peers and teachers (Eisenberg et al., 2001) and are at risk for later psychopathology, including depression and anxiety. Externalizing behavior problems are defined as problematic behaviors, including hyperactivity and increased levels of aggression, directed toward the external environment (Achenbach, 1992). Some children exhibit internalizing and externalizing disorders simultaneously. One typical trajectory of behavior problems peaks in toddlerhood and decreases throughout preschool (Alink et al., 2006; Hill, Degnan, Calkins, & Keane, 2006; Tremblay, 2004). Whereas some problem behaviors during this period are developmentally appropriate, as many as 25% of young children exhibit clinically significant levels of behavior problems, and a subgroup of these children struggle with chronic behavior problems (Campbell, 1995). It is important to understand factors that predict high and chronic levels of behavior problems in childhood because they are targets for early intervention. Infants with high levels of negative affect may be regarded as showing a difficult temperament and may be at risk for early-onset behavior problems.Infant Temperament and Behavior ProblemsTemperament is involved in personality and behavior (Nigg, 2006). Infant temperament has been described as a biologically engrained pattern of behavior associated with an individual's reactivity and ability to endure new situations, people, and experiences (Rothbart & Derryberry, 1981). Several studies suggest three overarching dimensions of infant and toddler temperament: extroversion-surgency, negative affect, and effortful control (Casalin, Luyten, Vliegen, & Meurs, 2012; Gartstein, Knyazev, & Slobodskaya, 2005; Gartstein & Rothbart, 2003). Casalin and colleagues (2012) found that these dimensions of temperament demonstrated stability over a 1-year period from infancy to toddlerhood. Further, dimensions of infant temperament have been linked to later personality traits and psychopathology. High levels of negative affect, in particular, have been linked to internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in childhood and more serious behavioral and emotional problems over time, including antisocial behavior throughout adulthood (Caspi, Henry, McGee, Moffitt, & Silva, 1995; Egger & Angold, 2006; Eisenberg et al., 2000; Gartstein, Putnam, & Rothbart, 2012; Morris et al., 2002; Rubin, Burgess, Dwyer, & Hastings, 2003). The negative-affect dimension includes negative emotions such as fear, anger, frustration, and sadness (Rothbart & Derryberry, 1981). …

Emotional Understanding, Reactivity, and Regulation in Young Children with ADHD Symptoms.

The goal of the present study was to examine whether young children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms experience difficulties with emotional understanding, reactivity, and regulation. Participants were 64 children, 4 to 7years of age (43 boys, 20 girls), 29 with ADHD symptoms and 34 typically developing children. Children completed an emotion matching task and parents reported on child lability and emotional regulation. Children also completed a frustrating computer task. Facial expressions of emotions were coded and children self reported affect during the task. Parent reports indicated heightened lability and impaired emotional regulation abilities in children with ADHD symptoms. Compared to typically developing children, children with ADHD symptoms demonstrated emotional understanding impairments in matching similar expressions and matching expressions to situations, but not in producing expression labels or matching expression labels to images. Self-reports of negative affect during the frustration task indicated that children with ADHD symptoms experienced more difficulty with emotional regulation than typically developing children. Behavioral observations during the frustration task indicated that the two groups demonstrated a similar increase in expressed negative affect during frustration; however, children with ADHD symptoms showed higher levels of negative affect across all four conditions of the task. This study suggests that the deficits documented in older children with ADHD are already evident during the preschool years, and distinct from the developmentally appropriate emotional dysregulation seen in typically developing preschoolers.

Does Who I Am or How I Regulate Matter? Consequences of Manipulation of Emotion Regulation Strategies.

This study experimentally examined the affective and social consequences of emotion regulation in men and women from young adulthood to old age. Participants were instructed to reappraise, suppress, or given no instructions while recalling a negative memory about their romantic relationship. Participants were 191 adults in a Trinidadian lifespan sample. Engaging in suppression resulted in higher relationship satisfaction, particularly for women, whereas engaging in reappraisal reduced negative affect for middle-aged versus younger adults. Reappraisal was, however, particularly consequential for young women who experienced higher levels of negative affect compared with men of the same age and older aged women. Regardless of instructions, older adults experienced higher relationship satisfaction, higher positive and lower negative affect than younger aged adults. Results are discussed considering the positivity effect for older adults, and how the current and historical climate of Trinidad influences the way women regulate their emotions.

The Role of Decision Making Styles in Explaining Happiness

In pursuit of happiness, individuals often choose activities which may be influenced by their general decision making styles that reflect habitual ways of choosing and making decisions. The present study investigated the associations of such tendencies, namely individuals’ temporal perspectives that included present and future focus, and maximizing, with persons’ orientations to happiness and their relevance for subjective well-being. The obtained results confirmed previous reports indicating the relevance of orientations to happiness for subjective well-being. With respect to the decision making styles, they revealed positive correlations with regard to future focus with orientations to meaning and engagement that were also negatively associated with present focus. In addition, present focus was positively correlated with orientation to pleasure. With respect to maximizing, this decision making style was positively associated with all three orientations. While assessing the relevance of decision making styles for subjective well-being, the regression analyses indicated that higher levels of maximizing directly predicted higher levels of negative affect and lower life satisfaction. Next, mediation and network methodologies revealed significant mediating effects of orientations to meaning and engagement with respect to the relationships between future focus with life satisfaction and positive affect, orientation to meaning with respect to the associations between present focus with life satisfaction and positive affect, and orientation to engagement with respect to the relationships between maximizing with life satisfaction and positive affect. These results extend previous knowledge, indicating the relevance of individuals’ decision making styles for their conceptualizations of happiness, as well as subjective well-being.

Mindful eating and its relationship with body mass index, binge eating, anxiety and negative affect

Mindful eating concerns an awareness of our dietary habits, while its absence is typically associated with anxiety, negative affect and binge eating. The objective of this study was to analyze these variables in a sample of 216 individuals, divided in four groups: students who practiced sport regularly, university athletes, yoga practitioners and persons suffering from obesity. They were assessed by a semi-structured interview and the questionnaires MEQ, BES, PANAS and BAI. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, ANOVA and multiple regression. Results demonstrated that people who have less awareness of their eating habits are generally more overweight, more anxious and have higher levels of negative affect, while they demonstrate less control over their eating habits. Moreover, these variables can predict binge eating. The model obtained was significant (p<.001) and its predictive capacity through R square corrected was .51. This means that the model predicts a 51% of binge eating from mindful eating, body mass index, anxiety and negative affect.

Perceived organizational support, emotional exhaustion, and turnover: The moderating role of negative affectivity.

Using principles from conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989), this study examined the time-lagged relationship between perceived organizational support (POS; measured at Time 1), emotional exhaustion (measured 6 months later), and turnover (measured 1 year after Time 1), and included negative affectivity (NA) as a moderator. Drawing on a sample of employees from multiple organizations (N = 135), we found POS to be unrelated to emotional exhaustion but the latter to be negatively related to turnover. NA moderated the relationship between POS and emotional exhaustion and POS’s indirect relationship to turnover, these relationships being stronger and positive at high levels of NA. Moreover, NA moderated the link between emotional exhaustion and turnover, this link being stronger and positive when NA was low. We discuss the relevance of conservation of resource theory as a useful framework for interpreting POS’s effects.

The Educative Effects of Extreme Television Media

This article investigates whether exposure to extreme television media informs citizens about politics. Using lab experiments with both student and non-student samples, I find that extreme media produce higher levels of political knowledge and that they also produce higher levels of negative affect among viewers compared with control groups. I also show that extreme media are at least as informative as traditional news. This research adds to the growing literature on media effects in a polarized media environment, showing that extreme television media can have a beneficial impact on at least one important area of U.S. politics: citizen competence. To account for external validity and popular conceptions on extreme media’s non-informative nature, I use cross-sectional data from the 2008 National Annenberg Election Survey finding that extreme television viewership correlates with greater political knowledge, while controlling for other known predictors.

Differences in infant temperament between Chile and the US

Temperament refers to individual differences in reactivity and self-regulation and is influenced by genetic and experiential variation and maturation. Temperament reflects biologically based individual differences that emerge in early life and remain relatively stable thereafter. Given the growing interest in cultural variation in infant temperament, this study examined the temperament of 12-month-old children in Chile and the US. The aims were to validate a version of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire – Revised – Very Short Form in Spanish for Chile and to compare Chilean and US infants’ temperament. For the first aim, 150 Chilean infants aged 10–15 months were assessed, and 73 US infants aged 10–15 months were examined for the second aim. The children’s parents completed a demographic questionnaire and the IBQ-R-VSF, which measures three dimensions of temperament: Surgency, Negative Affectivity, and Effortful Control. The reliability of each dimension for the Chilean sample was between 0.70 and 0.75, and significant differences between Chilean and US infants emerged. Parents of Chilean infants reported higher levels of Effortful Control, whereas US parents reported that their infants exhibited higher levels of Negative Affectivity. A relationship between parents’ higher educational level and infants’ higher levels of Surgency was found for both countries. No gender or age differences were observed for any of the three temperament dimensions. These results and their implications for cultural studies are discussed.

Clinical significance of mobile health assessed sleep duration and variability in bipolar disorder

ObjectiveSleep disturbances are prevalent, persistent, and impairing features of bipolar disorder. However, the near-term and cumulative impact of the severity and variability of sleep disturbances on symptoms and functioning remains unclear. We examined self-reported daily sleep duration and variability in relation to mood symptoms, medication adherence, cognitive functioning, and concurrent daily affect. MethodsForty-one outpatients diagnosed with bipolar disorder were asked to provide daily reports of sleep duration and affect collected via ecological momentary assessment with smartphones over eleven weeks. Measures of depressive and manic symptoms, medication adherence, and cognitive function were collected at baseline and concurrent assessment of affect were collected daily. Analyses examined whether sleep duration or variability were associated with baseline measures and changes in same-day or next-day affect. ResultsGreater sleep duration variability (but not average sleep duration) was associated with greater depressive and manic symptom severity, and lower medication adherence at baseline, and with lower and more variable ratings of positive affect and higher ratings of negative affect. Sleep durations shorter than 7–8 h were associated with lower same-day ratings of positive and higher same-day ratings of negative affect, however this did not extend to next-day affect. ConclusionsGreater cumulative day-to-day sleep duration variability, but not average sleep duration, was related to more severe mood symptoms, lower self-reported medication adherence and higher levels of negative affect. Bouts of short- or long-duration sleep had transient impact on affect. Day-to-day sleep variability may be important to incorporate into clinical assessment of sleep disturbances in bipolar disorder.